Many communication network providers offer some type of directory assistance service to people using the network. FIG. 1 is a block diagram including one such known directory assistance system. Generally, a person uses a telephone 100 to access a directory assistance platform 200, such as one staffed by a directory assistance operator. For example, a person may call a directory assistance operator to find the telephone number or address of a particular "listed party," such as a merchant. The person tells the operator the name, city and perhaps the county of the listed party. With this information, the operator accesses a directory assistance database 250 and determines the listed party's telephone number and address.
With some directory assistance services, such as AT&T's "00" INFO.sup.SM service, additional information can be made available to callers. For example, the operator can search for and find the names and addresses of certain types of establishments, e.g., Mexican restaurants, in a particular area. Such directory assistance services are useful, but only a limited amount of additional information is practically available. Often, a person wants to know even more detailed information about a particular listed party, such as business hours, items on a restaurant's menu or whether there are any rooms available in a hotel. This "enhanced" level of information is not currently available to a directory assistance operator.
Even if enhanced information were made available, it would not be practical to have an operator read such information to a user, or to otherwise interact with the user by reviewing material and answering detailed questions about enhanced listed party information since operator time is a very expensive resource for a communication network provider.
Moreover, unlike a listed party's address and telephone number, this type of enhanced information will change frequently. A restaurant, for example, might include daily specials that are being served. It is not practical for the network service provider to buy or maintain such a database, perhaps including hundreds of thousands of listed parties, when the information changes this frequently.
As shown in FIG. 1, some Internet-based information directories can contain information beyond the listed party's traditional name, address and telephone number. These directories typically display a listed party's World Wide Web page, or "Web" page, to a user. A Web page is a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) document 430 that can be sent to a user over the Internet 500 using a set of rules, called Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), that allow the exchange of information including text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files. As used herein, the term "script" refers to either an HTML document or a program that generates an HTML document.
A Web page is generally accessed through an address called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). For example, a particular listed party's Web page associated with a URL may contain the listed party's hours, text or audio advertising information, or pointers to other Web pages. The HTML scripts 430 are maintained on a computer 400, known as a Web "server," and can be designed to incorporate information in a database 440 that can be directly updated by the listed party as often as required. These Internet-based directories, however, can only be used by people with a computer connected to the Internet 500. Many people do not have access to the Internet 500, are not near a computer when looking for this type of information, or find it otherwise inconvenient to retrieve information this way.
A network service provider's users would find it very helpful if enhanced information was available through a telephone based directory assistance system. Additionally, the network service provider could generate revenue by charging listed parties a fee to be included in the enhanced information database. Finally, a listed party would be happy to be able to provide customers with detailed information that can be easily accessed.
In view of the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a substantial need exists for a method and apparatus that makes enhanced directory assistance information available over a telephone, and solves the other problems discussed above.